Wow, seven already. This is a variant on Bead 2, using smaller 4mm pearls, size 8 seeds and colour lined crystal 3.4mm drops which look very silly and lovely. I was actually intending to use lentils rather than the drops, which is why I deviated from my usual colour scheme but they simply didn’t work.
Recipe
4mm cerise glass pearls (picked up randomly on my beady travels)
Miyuki 3.4mm drops Hot Pink Lined Crystal (colour 23)
Galvanised Zest duracoat Miyuki 4205 size 8 seeds
The Indecisive Beader 
love it. the clear glass makes the shape disappear and appear ethereal. I might have to try this in my next holiday break. what thread do you use?
Thank you Diane, I tend to avoid colour lined crystal but it’s such a cool effect in drops, like water drops or bubbles. For thread I am a Fireline girl for pieces like this, although I use KO for RAW or CRAW if it’s a coloured piece. I find that Fireline is particularly good for evolving new designs as I can unpick without damaging the thread. I never use c-lon or nymo now, I find they split, break and get horribly tangled, and do wish I’d known that when I started beadweaving as thread management and tension is such a challenge. Sabine Lippert is very excited about the new ‘Nozue Sonoko Beading Thread’ so I’m going to try a roll of that next time I’m ordering. I would say Fireline though can be tricky to
manage tension wise as well, so for something like this, which has the challenge of larger beads and a 3d structure, KO would probably help keep enough tension to maintain the structure if you’re a looser beader.
Thank you for your reply. I have only used fireline once with a kit from laura perin and it was wonderful as it seemed once you pulled it tight it stayed tight. I generally use nymo or c-lon as i make christmas decorations and this helps get the drape right.
What is KO – i have to order most things from overseas so can you get this from fire mountain or shipwreck beads?
The other great thing about fireline is that because it is actually fishing line it’s available outside beading shops! You just need to be sure you are getting the really thin one (I use ‘4lb/Size’B’).
KO is a Japanese thread, it’s prewaxed and gives a super drape, but without the tangling & splitting, and doesn’t get as frayed from crystals (although fireline is still the only thread that really resists that as far as I can tell). The colours aren’t as bright as Nymo, but there is a red (06RD) that I find myself using a lot. I get mine from Stitch N Craft here in the UK (http://www.stitchncraft.co.uk/acatalog/K.O._Beading_Thread.html), or Perles & Co. in France have it (they seem very well set up for exports – http://www.stitchncraft.co.uk/acatalog/K.O._Beading_Thread.html). From memory I’ve also had some Miyuki thread which was very similar, and according to the Perles & Co site the Toho One-G is the same as the KO as well.
Do you know Diane, looking at the picture again I think I used purple KO for this one!